


5 People Who Visited Elizabeth in the Infirmary on Earth

by spiffyname



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Banter, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, Idiots in Love, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 14:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21078260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiffyname/pseuds/spiffyname
Summary: After an accident off-world, Elizabeth is confined to the infirmary.





	5 People Who Visited Elizabeth in the Infirmary on Earth

**Author's Note:**

> As always, my eternal love to Kelly who made this better! All remaining mistakes are mine alone. My trend of posting on thursdays for Sparktober remains intact thanks to her crazy-scary efficiency <3

He marched through the doors and scanned the area, spotting her almost immediately.

The sight of her relaxed something in him, but he shook his head. He was angry.

At her, at himself, at Stackhouse. At the stupid planet, at Earth and the Milky Way galaxy in general.

That didn’t stop him from walking over to her slumbering form and planting himself in the chair next to her bed. It had only been a couple hours when she started to stir, twitching her fingers and smacking her lips. The furrow in her brow made him reach over to get the cup of water on the side table, wiping away the condensation that was running down the sides, then wiping his hand hastily on his pants before resting the straw against her lips.

Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth curled up in a soft, though somewhat confused, smile. “John…”

“Drink,” he instructed softly, and she complied, struggling to open her eyes at the same time. When she was done, he put the cup back on the side table. “How are you feeling?”

“Fuzzy,” she replied slowly, as if she was taking the time to really think about the question.

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” he asked, trying to keep it light but failing. Concern laced each word that left his mouth, though he wasn’t sure she’d be able to pick up on it in her state.

She took a deep breath. “I… might have had a… tumble.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Did you now?”

She looked away for a moment. “Just a tiny one.” She looked up with a small grin. “It was a tiny tumble.”

Despite himself, he grinned back. But then his eyes drifted down her body and cataloged her injuries. Her left collarbone was broken, her left wrist was wrapped up and both her hands were covered in scrapes and cuts. The blanket covered her from the waist down, except for her right leg, since her ankle was in a cast. When he saw Rodney in the gateroom upon his arrival back, John knew something had happened. McKay had doled out the information he had gotten: Elizabeth had gone off-world with Stackhouse and a couple of SG Marines to a benign planet with Ancient Ruins. The locals had warned them that the area was dangerous, but only because it seemed to be sinking back into the earth it stood upon. Elizabeth had been making good progress on translating some of the ruins, but in her excitement to get to a new area, lost her footing and fell down a steep hill.

When McKay had finished giving his report, John’s first instinct was to rip Stackhouse a new one, but his priority was (and always would be) seeing Elizabeth first.

“That’s not how I heard it,” John replied, keeping his tone even.

Elizabeth pouted. “Was my own fault. I tripped,” she told him sadly. Then she got a nervous look in her eye. “Please don’t yell at Stackhouse. I want to keep him.”

It was hard being upset when she was being all cute and adorable, but John had to stay firm. “Elizabeth,” he started, sounding exasperated, “No. If he can’t be trusted to keep you safe, then he can’t be on your detail anymore.”

Her pout turned into a frown. “I just told you, wasn’t his fault.”

He sighed. John always made sure that whoever was on Elizabeth’s detail had to be aware that she would try and get away with anything – they always had to keep an eye on her, because she got caught up in whatever she was doing, and sometimes people were swept along in her excitement.

Compared to some of what they often dealt with though, if John’s mission with SG-12 was a milk run, then Stackhouse’s mission of guarding Elizabeth should have been a cake-walk, even with his additional rules.

“My mouth feels funny,” Elizabeth said, before he could argue his own point.

“Funny how?”

She smacked her lips and made exaggerated movements with her mouth. “Like my tongue is too heavy. Or in the way. John, is it in the way?”

He wanted to smile, but resisted, and patted himself on the back for that feat. “No, it’s not in the way. But you must be on the good stuff.”

“Mmm,” she hummed happily, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her focus was on John. “I still want to keep Stackhouse.”

Even doped up, she was a hard woman to bargain with. Still, he conceded with a, “We’ll see,” but her bright smile almost made his concession worth it. 

The next time John walked into the infirmary, things were slightly panicked. His eyes went immediately to the bed that Elizabeth had taken residence upon to find it empty, and he sighed. This is not how he expected his homecoming to turn out. Doctor Lam noticed him and her face was a mix of apologetic and stern.

“We have a runaway,” she told him plainly. He nodded and made a noise of agreement as he went to her bed and looked around. “I swear, she’s as bad as the military patients I get in here,” the Doctor muttered.

“Oh, no, I’m sure she’s much worse,” John commented with a grin. He knew he was a terrible patient, but Elizabeth had been in the infirmary for only five days, and even that was pushing her limit when she had nothing to do but stare at the grey walls. He noticed a door out of the corner of his eye and nodded. That must have been her escape route.

The door opened easily, no alarms sounding and no guards. He sighed again. He’d have to ask to put a guard to post there, if she couldn’t be reasoned with. The door opened up into 2 hallways -- one long one, and another that crossed it a few feet away from the door. John shrugged to himself – now it was just a process of elimination. The hall in front of him seemed like a good choice, so he started there, knocking on the door before jiggling the handle to see if it was locked. He’d made it halfway down the hall – most of the doors were locked, considering they were offices of some kind – when he knocked and a soft voice answered. He shook his head and opened the door to find the back of the woman he had tasked himself to find.

Elizabeth turned around and her eyes widened, and gripped the desk tightly. “I just need a few,” she told him.

“Minutes? Sure, you can have ‘em,” John replied, stepping into the office.

“More like hours?” she asked hopefully.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Doc Lam was about to lock down the mountain to search for you,” he said, sauntering over to her.

“John,” she said, exasperated.

“Elizabeth,” he copied her tone and crossed his arms over his chest. It was hard to be imposing with her, even if she was sitting down and had a cast on her right foot, a wrap around her left wrist in a sling, and wearing a pilfered doctor’s coat. He couldn’t help but scan over her with his own eyes, making sure she hadn’t gotten into any other mishaps while he had been off-world again with SG-12. It had been an easy mission, and even though they were there for meetings and briefings and a _ gala_, John would rather be off-world in any galaxy than sitting in a cold grey office. 

She looked away and sighed. “Can I just finish up this one thing?” she asked, knowing she wasn’t going to win. He smirked. He didn’t even have to threaten to pick her up and carry her back: he knew that she knew he’d do it if he had to.

“Only if it’s gonna take a few minutes.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Fine,” she grouched at him, and her fingers flew over the keyboard, ever efficient, even with a bandaged left hand and a broken collarbone.

While she finished up, he wandered around the office, taking a look at the books on the shelves and the knick-knacks here and there.

When it sounded like she was finished, he offered her a hand up out of the chair, and she took it gratefully. John thought about scooping her up and carrying her back as a sort of punishment for her escape, but a look from her made him rethink that idea.

“It would be faster,” he told her.

“Are you in a rush?” she asked him, and he shook his head. “Then I think I can manage, thanks.”

Still, he looped an arm around her waist to help ease some of the weight off her twisted ankle. It didn’t really need a cast, but John had hoped it would have made it harder for her to move around, thus healing more quickly. He should have known better.

They hobbled down the hall, back to the infirmary and towards her bed. Elizabeth looked at the bed and debated the best way possible to get back on. John cleared his throat and gave her a look. She frowned, but eyed the bed again. It would have been easier had she had use of both her hands, but only one of them was strong enough at the moment, and she sighed in defeat.

“Cross your legs,” he told her, and she moved her left leg behind her right, while her hands rested on John’s shoulders. He bent a little to pick her up and deliver her gently on her bed. She squirmed a little until she was in a comfortable position, and gave him another grateful smile. He smiled back and raised the bed so she was sitting up.

“Thank you,” she told him, tucking a curl behind her ear.

“Maybe, if you’ve been really good, I’ll bring some paperwork by later so you have something to do,” he told her. She rolled her eyes, but there was a flash of relief on her face.

“How did you-- You were here for 5 minutes and you already found her?! I’ve had a Staff Sergeant look for over thirty!” Dr. Lam exclaimed, sounding impressed but also a little befuddled. John just shrugged. He’d heard people back home joke about how they were telepathically linked, but really he just knew her.

“Oh, um,” Elizabeth said a little sheepish, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Dr Lam, please apologize to Staff Sergeant Nichols for me. I, uh… I wasn’t exactly pleasant to him this morning.”

Dr Lam gave her a wry grin. “No offense, Doctor Weir, but you haven’t been exactly pleasant to anyone these past few mornings.”

Elizabeth ducked her head and looked away, embarrassed. It had been a week since her last cup of coffee, as she got injured (which was her own stupid fault, she knew) and had been in the infirmary since then. The first couple days had been manageable, as she had been pretty doped up – John had even said they had given her the ‘good stuff’. By the fourth morning she had made an attendant cry, the next day the two patients closest to her had requested new beds (far away from her) and this morning she had threatened the Staff Sergeant.

She missed Chuck almost desperately. He was always aware of her caffeine levels, and almost always knew when she was in need of a fresh cup. And he had trained a couple of the night shift technicians which tea she liked best when she was working late. Between Chuck and John, she always had someone looking out for her (and the rest of the city).

John tossed her a curious glance, and Elizabeth answered with a sad look and a shake of her head. His watched beep, reminding him of the debriefing he had in a few minutes.

“Am I okay to go to this meeting? You’re not gonna try and pull another jailbreak, right?” he asked Elizabeth.

She rolled her eyes but gave him a smirk, and waved him off. “Go. I’ll be fine. No more jailbreaks… for today,” she told him, mischievously.

“I’ll be back later, so I’m holding you to that,” John said, and was on his feet and out the door moments later.

Elizabeth watched him leave, then studied the doctor who was making notes on her chart. “I want to apologize. I, uh… I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus. I just…”

“Hate being in here?” Carolyn filled in, and Elizabeth nodded sheepishly. “You’re not the first person to feel that way, and I don’t expect you to be the last. Hell, you’re not even my first runaway.” 

“That… doesn’t exactly make me feel better, but I appreciate the sentiment,” she replied.

Carolyn moved to the IV bag, and pushed a few buttons on the machine next to it. “Thankfully, I have ways of counteracting potential escapees.”

“Oh?” Elizabeth queried, eyeing the doctor with suspicion.

The shorter woman had a somewhat evil look on her face. “You’ll forgive me, Dr Weir, but I think it's time you got some actual rest.”

“Isn’t it a little unethical to drug your patients like that?” Elizabeth asked, already feeling the drugs in her system.

“Not when they runaway in the first place. Sleep well, Dr Weir.”

\--

A few hours later, John returned to the infirmary, as promised. And, like he said, he was carrying some files. Elizabeth was awake since Dr Lam hadn’t given her a huge dose of drugs, but enough that she was knocked out for a couple of hours.

"Hey, you can look over these for me, right? Spelling, grammar, all around... cohesive statements and such?" he asked, handing her a couple of folders.

Her grin was small, but genuine. "Sure. Um, do you have a --" before she finished her question, a red pen was handed to her. "Thanks," she said, suspicious. When she opened the first file, the first mistake was obvious, and she glanced over at him but John was busy tapping on his laptop. As she continued to read over things, she couldn't help herself. 

"John, did you... disable the spell check?" she asked, a bit incredulously. She didn't think it was possible. 

When he looked up, his face was innocently confused. "Spell check?" he asked. 

She took a deep breath in, and released it slowly. "Really? You want to play dumb right now?"

"Gives you something to do though, doesn't it?" he remarked cheekily, a grin on his face. He was quite pleased with himself. 

"'When we arugala on ze plants et, we fidvobrtrf -- I don't even know what you tried to spell there - dat ert wust habitable.' So, _habitable_, you got. but... honestly? Arugala? and... fidvo-something? Really?"

His grin widened. "I thought you liked word games and puzzles."

Elizabeth had to stare at him for a moment, flabbergasted. "I... don't know whether this is sweet, or slightly psychotic."

John pouted slightly. "Let's go with sweet. That's what I was going for, anyway."

She looked at the file on her lap, then at him, then back to the papers. When she looked up again, she gave him a look she knew he could read well enough. It said _'Really? Sweet? These papers are going to give me a migraine.'_

He merely smiled at her in answer. From his smile, she got _'at least it will take your mind off of everything else_' -- and she couldn't disagree. 

"Am... I interrupting something?" Stackhouse asked, looking between his bosses. 

"No, Sergeant. You, in fact, are saving me. What can we do for you?" she answered pleasantly, putting the file that was on her lap off to the side of the bed.

The younger man glanced over at John quickly, before clearing his throat. "Um, Ma'am, I'm not sure if I... uh, if I made it clear how awful I feel about... you know. This whole thing," he apologized awkwardly. 

Elizabeth glared at John for a long hard moment, but her look softened when she turned it to Stackhouse. 

"Sergeant, you know I don't blame you for this. Honestly, like I've told you -- _and_ everyone else - " she stated pointedly, giving John another look, "It was my own fault. I got over-excited and didn't look where I was going. I'm not going to hold this against you the next time you escort me off-world."__

_ _Stackhouse's eyes went wide for a beat, then looked between John and Elizabeth a couple times. "I, er... I was under the impression that... well. I thought that I wouldn't, that I wasn't --"_ _

_ _Elizabeth smiled placatingly at him. "Whatever rumors you might have heard -- from reliable sources or otherwise -- are greatly exaggerated. I don't hold you responsible for this. It was an accident -- one we probably won't make again.”_ _

_ _“No ma’am. I mean, yes ma’am. I mean --“_ _

_ _“Yeah, I think we got it, Stackhouse,” John said, still giving the kid the hairy eyeball._ _

_ _“Yes sir. Thank you ma’am. I promise, I won’t let you down next time. I’ll --“_ _

_ _“Sergeant, you haven’t let me down at all. And anyone who thinks so is stupid.”_ _

_ _“I’m just… I’m glad that you’re okay,” Stackhouse managed, even under John’s less than friendly stare. He nodded to both of his commanders before high-tailing it out of the infirmary._ _

_ _\--_ _

_ _When John returned to the infirmary with some pilfered snacks from the mess, he was a little surprised to see Colonel Caldwell at Elizabeth’s bedside._ _

_ _“She’s quite popular,” Dr Lam commented from the side, and John gave himself props for not visibly startling._ _

_ _“She always is,” he replied honestly. “How she doing, anyway?”_ _

_ _Dr Lam gave him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher – he wasn’t really good at reading women unless they were hitting him over the head with anvil-sized clues. When he had a wife, he thought he could read her better than anyone, but apparently that didn’t turn out so true, either. And that was before he met Elizabeth, who for some reason, he could read better than anyone he’d ever met, usually. And vice-versa. He didn’t think too much about that._ _

_ _“She’s healing nicely. She’s certainly not the worst patient I’ve ever had, but she’s not the easiest.”_ _

_ _“It’s hard for her to sit still,” John said quietly. He watched Caldwell and Elizabeth interact for another beat, then his feet started moving._ _

_ _“-- was giving Novak problems, but I think Hermiod put him in his place. No one wants to upset an Asgardian,” Steven was saying, and Elizabeth shook her head ruefully._ _

_ _“Well, I can’t say I’m overly surprised, though… I do feel a bit guilty. I wasn’t exactly fair to him, and I should have listened when --“_ _

_ _“Elizabeth,” Steven interrupted her, placing a hand over hers gently, “You have the patience of a saint. The man is hard to get along with even in the best of times. Though,” and his eyes were a bit mischievous, “I hear his reputation is worse than McKay’s now.”_ _

_ _“_Steven_,” Elizabeth chided lightly. Her face seemed to brighten when she saw who was approaching. “John, Dr. Lam. You’re not here to stick me with more needles, are you?” she asked Lam with a grin._ _

_ _Carolyn smiled warmly and shook her head. “No, I’m here to check your chart and your levels, to make sure you’re on track.”_ _

_ _Elizabeth grinned, then raised a brow at John. “Oh, I’m here because I have something for you,” he told her._ _

_ _She gave him a dubious look. “It’s not more files to review, is it?”_ _

_ _He gave her his best boyish grin, and she tilted her head at him. “I want you to remember this moment, for the next time I get in trouble,” he told her, before revealing what he was hiding behind his back, and she gasped out loud._ _

_ _If her face was bright before, it was practically elated now. “I take back most of the mean things I’ve ever said about you,” she told him seriously, eyeing the snacks in his hands._ _

_ _John pouted. “Only most?”_ _

_ _She raised her brow at him: _Some things you deserved_. And he couldn’t argue with that._ _

_ _“Yeah, okay, that’s fair,” he replied with a shrug. He then handed her some specialty chocolates and popcorn that were among the hottest commodities on Atlantis, sharing an indulgent grin with Caldwell. “Sir, it’s… weird to see you Earthside.”_ _

_ _“Same, Colonel. I trust that you, at least, are staying out of trouble?” he asked, glancing at Elizabeth briefly, who took a moment from her snacking pleasure to stick her tongue out at him._ _

__John rocked on his heels. “Well, _someone_ has to be the responsible one,” he joked, getting a pout from her in return.

“God. Like neither of you has ever tripped before,” she muttered.

The two Colonels shared an amused look.

“Maybe not quite so… spectacularly,” Steven conceded with a grin.

“I liked you a lot better ten minutes ago,” she told him, and he chuckled.

“Well, if you’re up and around in a few days, I’ll take you for that lunch I owe you,” Steven told her with a smile.

“I’d like that,” she replied in kind.

“Doctor, Colonel, Doctor,” Steven nodded to each person as he rose from his seat.

“Actually, Sir, um…” John shifted on his feet, “I mean, if you have some time later, there’s a couple of things I, uh… I could use your advice on.”

Caldwell looked somewhat surprised. “Oh. Of course, Colonel. I’ll check my schedule, and email you.”

John nodded and the other man took his leave.

Once he was out of earshot, Elizabeth couldn’t help herself. “John,” she said, impressed, a smile on her face.

He could feel his ears getting hot (his usual reaction to that tone she used when she was proud of him), and he tried to wave it off, but had a hard time fighting the smile off his face. “Don’t get used to it,” he grumbled, though it didn’t hold any heat.

It was her turn to look down, the remnants of her snack on her lap. “I’ll try not to,” she said. When she had gotten control of her face, she looked up again, “Thank you.”

This time, he reached for her hand. “Anytime.”

\--

“I know I haven’t been here much – but you know I don’t like infirmaries. And also, I’ve been extremely busy – some of the people here are even _more_ incompetent than back home, if you can believe it! Anyway, I’ve been correcting their mistakes and saving their tiny little miserable lives before they’ve even realized they were in danger – with no thanks! I think people on Earth are more ungrateful than in the Pegasus Galaxy. Anyway, I, uh, I had one of the minions put some novels on this e-reader – which, in my opinion seems a little archaic now, but that’s besides the point. Erm… And I may have, by chance, found some movies that you might find interesting. It took a while to collect everything, but, well, um… here.”

The Staff Sergeant on duty – Nichols, whom Elizabeth had threatened quite violently, which surprised him, especially coming from a peace-loving diplomat – had heard about Doctor McKay before he’d ever met the man. His reputation preceded him, even galaxies away.

This was _not_ the man he had heard about. Well… mostly. From almost every report, McKay was a narcissistic, egomaniacal man with little to no regard for anyone’s feelings.

“Thank you, Rodney. That’s very sweet of you,” Elizabeth told the man, and tugged him down to kiss his cheek.

“Elizabeth,” the man whined, even as his cheeks turned pink.

She smiled at him. “I promise, this will stay between us. No one else will know that you’re really just a big softie,” she teased him.

He rolled his eyes, but fondly. “As if anyone would ever believe you. I have a reputation to keep, you know.”

Her smile was indulgent, even as her face morphed into mock-seriousness. “No, of course. The cold-hearted Dr McKay can’t be known for doing something nice every now and then.”

“No, because then _everyone_ might expect the same treatment.”

“So, I’m just special then?” she queried.

The look he gave her wasn’t very flattering. “Fishing for compliments doesn’t suit you, Elizabeth,” he told her. Then, “You’re one of the few people that I can tolerate on a regular basis.” Then his look turned sly. “Also, you’re my boss. I’ve heard that sucking up can go a long way.”

She shook her head, but smiled. “Ah, there it is. I was almost worried for a moment that you’d been body snatched.”

He hesitated for a moment, before patting her hand awkwardly. “I’m… glad you’re okay though. I uh… I may have… reprimanded Sgt Stackhouse after you came back.”

It was Elizabeth’s turn to roll her eyes. “Oh my _god_. I tripped! Stackhouse had nothing to --“

“Okay, well, yes, I understand that _now_. But, I mean, you have to understand where we’re coming from! You went through the gate in one piece, and you came back all…” he used his hands to mime something akin to ‘discombobulated’. 

“Oh, because that’s _never_ happened to you before,” she said sarcastically. “At least I’ve never had an arrow in my ass.”

“Be grateful you haven’t!” he retorted.

Her grin was wicked when she tilted her head in thought. “What was worse: the arrow, or the stunner blast to the face?”

His eyes narrowed. “Oh, I don’t know. What was worse for you, dealing with Kavanaugh or falling down a hill and nearly killing yourself?”

Her lips twitched. “The hill, obviously,” she lied, easily and without hesitation. He huffed out a breathless laugh.

“The stunner wasn’t pleasant, especially the pins and needles once I was regaining feeling back to my face. Although, I did get the good drugs when I got shot with the arrow…”

“I think I liked being almost sacrificed to that volcano on M3J-771 more than falling down that hill… or dealing with Kavanaugh.”

He sighed. “That’s my cue to save the world. Again.”

Elizabeth held his hand for a moment. “Thank you. Not just for saving the universe, but for these as well.”

Rodney gave her a genuine smile, and kissed her hand in a bout of chivalry. “I’ll be back… later at some point.”

As he was leaving, he took a moment to walk up to the Staff Sergeant. “If anything happens to her… well. I’m going to hold you responsible.” Giving the man a hard look, McKay nodded once, and left.

\--

SG-1 had just returned after a week long trip – trying to help a few villages evacuate to safer ground. As they filed into the infirmary, Cameron Mitchell caught Daniel Jackson’s attention by hitting his arm.

“Ow.”

“Isn’t that – “

“Dr Elizabeth Weir.”

Sam turned to see that yes, Elizabeth Weir was in the infirmary, not looking the best she had ever seen the woman. Daniel was already making his way over.

“Yikes. What happened to you?” Daniel asked with a smile on his face.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You should see the other guy.”

Daniel’s eyebrows raised. “Oh yeah?”

The woman in bed held her composure for a few seconds, before deflating. “No, not really,” she told him honestly. At his look, she sighed. “I tripped.”

“You… Tripped,” Daniel said slowly, as if he didn’t understand.

“Yes, I --“

“Lizabeth, they didn’t have jello, but I did get you a chocolate pud-- oh. Hi,” John said, stopping at the foot of Elizabeth’s bed, looking awkwardly at Dr. Jackson for a moment.

“Hi. Elizabeth was just about to tell me that she tripped?”

John rolled his eyes. “More like she tried to fight a mountain and lost,” he muttered, going to Elizabeth’s left side.

“You what?” Daniel asked.

“I tripped down a small hill. Don’t listen to him, he exaggerates too much,” Elizabeth told Daniel, waving John off like a fly.

“She ‘took a tiny tumble’ down a ‘small hill’,” John said, using air quotes. “She looks a lot better than she did before. No offense.”

Her eyes narrowed at her Military Commander. “I think I liked you better when I was drugged.”

He grinned at her in return. “Oh, I _know_ I liked you better when you were drugged.”

Daniel covered his chuckle with a fake cough that no one believed. “I, uh. I guess you’ve been cooped up for a little while, huh?” he asked.

“She’s already escaped once,” John supplied.

Daniel grinned. “Why Dr. Weir. What kind of example are you setting for everyone else?”

The look she gave in in response was slightly evil. “It’s a lesson, Dr. Jackson. Don’t come between a woman and her deadlines.”

Daniel shook his head, then noticed some files on the side table. “You’re not kidding.”

Elizabeth noticed his gaze, and she ducked her head with a smile. “Oh. Well, no, I’m not, but I was going a little stir crazy, so someone was kind enough to give me some work to do.”

Daniel’s eyebrows shot up, and couldn’t help but glance at Sheppard’s smug face. Then he nodded. “Well, I mean, if you’re offering, I could use some help with some translations…”

Elizabeth’s entire face lit up at the prospect. “I’d be delighted,” she told him, trying to keep herself in check. Daniel figured she must have been extremely bored to be this excited to do him a favour.

“Great!” Daniel said, glancing over at his team. “After my check up and debriefing, I’ll come by and go over some things with you.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

With a nod to the Atlantis Leaders, Daniel made his way back to get poked and prodded by doctors.

“Where’s my pudding?” Elizabeth asked John, who sighed like she was a hardship, and passed her the dessert he had been tasked with retrieving for her.

\--

Staff Sergeant Nichols had taken it upon himself to more-or-less be Dr. Weir’s personal guard. That, and the fact that he had been vaguely threatened by Dr McKay (who had been quite serious, as it turned out) and lectured by Col. Sheppard (on multiple occasions, in various ways). Apparently, Team Pegasus took each other’s health and safety quite seriously.

Nichols had just arrived after finishing his lunch to his self-appointed post by the wall, a few beds down from where the Doctor resided – to give her a little privacy, and to not be quite so obvious – when he noticed the General’s presence in the infirmary. Nichols stood just a bit straighter when he realized who was visiting the Doctor, and not wanting to disturb them, was going to distract himself with counting the lights when he heard Dr Weir laugh, and his interest was piqued. She was on a phone, smiling into the receiver.

“Yes, thank you Sir. No, that’s not necessary. I’m sure. No, I’m _quite_ sure, Mr. President. Ha ha ha, sir. Please don’t tell my Military Commander that, he might actually take it into consideration. Don’t you dare! I mean it! Oh. Well, thank you for taking the time to call, sir. I will. Yes, thank you, Mr. President. Okay. Yes, you too. Bye, Henry.”

Elizabeth passed the phone back to the General, who was looking at her, amusement on his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a call from the president that wasn’t related to a near catastrophe, and certainly not just to see how I was doing.”

Nichols tried to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head. He had heard rumours about how much clout Dr Weir had, but thought some of it was highly exaggerated. Apparently not.

Elizabeth was blushing faintly, but rolled her eyes. “Apparently someone let it slip that I was laid up in the infirmary, and he just wanted to check that it was just… normal human race stuff, and not intergalactic alien stuff, I think.”

The General huffed out a laugh, but shook his head. “No, I’m pretty sure he’s got a soft spot for you, Doctor. But that appears to be the norm for you, so I hear,” he told her.

She tilted her head curiously at him, eyebrow raised in a question.

“Dr Lam says you’re one of her more popular patients,” Hank explained.

She had grace enough to looked chagrined at the statement. “Oh, yes. That. I hope that it hasn’t been too much of a nuisance. I feel bad at the foot-traffic that’s been coming in recently – I can tell them to stop, or at least –“

The General waved her off. “Nonsense. I’d sooner deal with Carolyn’s complaints at how crowded it seems rather than face off with McKay and Sheppard about visiting hours in the infirmary. I know better than to come between a team and their loyalty to each other. Pretty sure I’ve danced to that tune with you, and I didn’t come out on top then either.”

She had to smile at that. “Yes, well. I think every commander has to be put their paces when it comes to that.”

“Indeed,” The General agreed. Then he checked his watch and sighed. “Well, I wanted to see how you were doing, and also to deliver the President’s call to you. Now I’ve done both, I suppose I should get back to my desk. Doctor, as always, it’s been a pleasure.”

“Thank you for saying so, General, though I’m sure that’s a lie. I appreciate it, all the same.”

The General let out a huff of laughter, nodded to the Doctor as he got up, and nodded to Nichols’ as he passed, leaving the infirmary to go do what Generals did.

With a deep sigh, Elizabeth rested against her pillow for a few long moments.

Then, as if he was summoned, Colonel Sheppard entered the room and made a bee-line towards his usual spot. She cracked one eye open and turned in the Colonel’s direction. “Got a deck of cards?” she asked, hopefully.

Sheppard laughed and nodded, hand going to one of his pockets. “Pretty sure you owe me a rematch, anyway, Lizabeth.”

She grinned at him. “Hey, I don’t cheat. You just can’t out bluff a diplomat. There’s no shame in that.”

With a put-upon sigh, Sheppard sat down by her side and started shuffling the cards. “Whatever you say, Elizabeth. Whatever you say.”

*end


End file.
